Maria
by Little.D.526
Summary: "Maria, honey, trust me. This man; he'll take good care of you."   Maria's mom left her in the hands of a complete stranger- The Doctor. But how did they know each other? And what kind of trouble will they get into?
1. The Blue Box

I do not own Doctor Who.

The suitcase wheels clicked over every crack in the sidewalk, giving the girl a headache. She tried shaking it away, but all that did was make her dizzy. She stopped for a moment, rubbing her temples. Sighing, she gripped the suitcase tighter, and walked faster. She thought about what her mom had said to her, just before she died.

_ "Maria, honey, trust me. This man; he'll take good care of you." she said, smiling like it pained her to do so. _

_ "But mom, you only met him _once_. How are you supposed to even remember where he is? You said he travels. . . He might not even be home!"_

_ "You'll find him." She winked, and her blond hair fell over her face. The girl reached out to her mother and brushed the hair away. "You'll be a surprise he won't want to miss." _

_ "How am I going to be a surprise? Oh, well. . . never mind. A random girl showing up at his door claiming: 'Hey, my mom met you once and decided to give me over to you when she died.' _would_ be a surprise." _

_ "Maria. . ."_

_ "Why can't you tell me? I'm not a kid anymore! He was just a story then, and now I have to believe he's real but you won't tell me anything!"_

_ "He is real and you have to trust me-"_

_ "And him, yeah, I know mom. What's his house like, anyways? I'll need to know so I can find him."_

_ "A box; He lives in a blue police box."_

She'd searched all over New York and hadn't found this mysterious blue box. She had almost started believing that her mother really was crazy. Deciding she needed a break, she rolled herself and her suitcase to the nearest Starbucks and plopped down at a window seat. After a minute or two, she got up and ordered herself some coffee before returning to her seat to think. She needed to keep thinking. Where would a blue police box be anyways?

'Maybe in back alleyways or something.' She thought, running an ivory hand through her dirty blonde hair. She shut her eyes and sat in silence for a moment. Silence. There had been so much silence since her mom died. Before, they would run and play and shop and sing as if no one was listening. Now all she did was look for a box that her insane mother insisted was real. And she was alone. Completely and utterly alone. She finished up her coffee and tossed it in the trash can as she left. 'Back to the endless search.'

She walked down the busy streets, peering into all of the nooks and crannies that she could find, but she was disappointed every time. Her suitcase seemed to click even louder now than it had twenty minutes ago, and her headache returned. She hated these headaches. They came whenever she thought of her mom, or whenever she got too frustrated.

Something caught her attention a few blocks up the empty street. Just a flash of something. Something blue. Curious and hopeful, she dragged the suitcase behind her and ran down the street. When she got to the corner, her breath caught in her throat. There it was-the blue box.

"Mom, you crazy woman. I can't believe he's real. . . . " she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked up and raised her hand to knock. An inch from the door, she stopped. She was scared. She was about to live with a stranger. Did she really want to? She shook her head again. "If mom trusted him. . ."

She knocked five times. She waited five minutes. Then, slowly, the door creaked open. A girl with fiery red hair opened the door. She peeked an eye out, looking at the girl, studying her.

"Doctor! We have a visitor!" the red-haired woman called in what the girl assumed was a Scottish accent. The girl heard a man's voice gradually getting louder, and then a head poked out. He stared at her, and she waved nervously.

"Well? Can I help you?" He said, looking extremely confused.

"Uh. . . yeah. Hold on. . . I had a letter somewhere. . ." the girl said, patting down her pockets, searching for the letter her mother wrote. "One second . . ." She looked in the suitcase, finding it wedged between her toothbrush and her extra sneakers. It was in an old yellow envelope, and had beautiful cursive handwriting on it. "This is for you, from my mom."

Warily, the man took the letter and opened it, slipping out the letter. Halfway through the letter the girl saw a tear in his eyes. He looked at her, then back at the letter, then back at her. He furrowed his brow and continued reading. When he had finished, he opened the door completely and studied the girl. He was shaking his head.

"Impossible. Impossible . . . . This is impossible, _you _are impossible. _SHE _is impossible. She was dead, I _watched her die_!" He was speaking quickly and only barely above a whisper until the end, where he was practically shouting while vigorously shaking the letter. He got a weird look in his eyes, and then he let out a loud laugh, and started pacing. "Unless, by some miracle, she _did _come back to life-like I had originally thought. I knew it! I mean, she is. . ." he stopped, looked the girl up and down, studying her.

"So. . . can I stay with you?" The girl asked. The man laughed, and held out his hand.

"Of course! I'm the Doctor, This is Amy, and Rory is in the TARDIS somewhere. . . .And you are. . . .?" He said, shaking her hand so hard she thought it would rip off.

"Didn't my mom say in the letter?" the girl asked, suddenly curious as to what the letter said.

"No. Well, yes, but this is an introduction! I told you my name, and now you tell me yours. Isn't that how it works?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. . ." The girl looked the weird man in the eyes, and suddenly wished her mom was there. "I'm Maria."

"Okay, well, now that we got the introductions out of the way, we might as well get you unpacked!" The Doctor said, straightening his bow tie. The girl gripped her hand tightly around the handle of the suitcase and followed the Doctor and Amy into the blue police box, her hearts beating like never before.

_Hey guys! So this is my attempt at the start of a Doctor Who Fanfic. What can I Say? I'm a total Whovian. This is an idea I've been toying with for a little while, and I finally got around to writing it down. I promise to try and post regularly, but it definitely won't be as close as _Love Is A Maze_. Anywhoo, let me know what you think, and I promise to also try and make longer chapters! Also, really quickly, any ideas on who Maria's mom is?_

_Hugs and Butterfly Kisses!_

_Little.D_


	2. Get a Room

Maria gasped. The inside of the TARDIS was like nothing she had ever seen before. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes soaking up every last detail of this new place. The Doctor turned on his heels, pointed a finger at her, and said, "Yes, I know. It's bigger on the inside than on the outside. It's time lord stuff."

"Time lord . . ." Maria said, and suddenly she was back in the training room of the old building her mother had bought back when Maria was nine.

_ "Maria, you don't need to say 'Hiyah!' every time you kick or punch. And if you ever need to, which I hope you won't, you'll need to kick stronger." Maria's mother chuckled. Maria slumped over and fell face-first onto the floor. _

_ "Mom it's no use. I'm no soldier like you." She groaned into the floor. _

_ "Well technically we were born for different purposes." She said, placing her hands on her hips. She squatted down and rubbed Maria's back. "But we're both tough enemies. We've got something no one else does. Do you know what that is?" _

_ Maria propped herself up on her elbows and thought for a moment. "No idea, mom."_

_ "Two hearts. We have two hearts."_

_ "Wait-I thought other people did too?" Maria asked, tilting her head slightly. _

_ "No one that's normal. That's one of the special things about Time Lords."_

_ "What's a Time Lord?"_

_ "I'm not really sure, but I know we are _almost_ one. Almost."_

_ "Why almost?"_

_ "We don't regenerate."_

_ "What's . . . regenerate?" _

_ "I think you've had a decent break. Back up!"Maria's mother said, pushing up on her knees and standing up, reaching a hand down to help Maria._

_ "Oh, come on mom! You can't leave me hanging!" Maria whined, slowly standing up. _

"Maria?" The Doctor said, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about . . ." she looked at the Doctor, shook her head, and continued, "Never mind. It's not important."

"Well okay then. Amy! Where's Rory? He's been missing for a while, and now we have to introduce him to the lovely Maria here." He said, circling around what Maria assumed were the controls of the TARDIS. He paused and turned when a dirty-blonde/light brown haired man in a roman centurion costume walked into the room. The man stopped and stared at Maria.

"We've, uh. . . got a visitor?" He asked, turning to Amy, who nodded.

"Oh look! Rory! Hello, Rory. This is Maria. She's going to be traveling with us now. Aren't you?" The Doctor explained, turning to Maria, who nodded and gave a half smile. "Oh come on now, we don't bite!"

"So I assume you only have liquid foods then?" Maria said, giving a half laugh. Everyone just looked at her. She blushed and looked at her feet. She could just imagine someone saying "awkward" in the silence that followed. In that moment there wasn't anything that she wanted more than her mother, who would have laughed no matter how stupid or bad the joke was.

Amy coughed, and the Doctor looked at her. "Yes, Amy?"

"Well, you were saying something before Maria knocked on the TARDIS door."

"Oh, yes. I suppose I was."

"Well . . . .?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you going to finish?"

"Finish wha-Oh . . . no, I forgot. But it'll come back to me. Always does." He said, before turning to Maria, who was standing uncomfortably by her suitcase, playing with the handle. "Maria, would you like Amy to show you your room?"

"I suppose that would be better than leaving my suitcase out here and sleeping on the floor." She said.

"Excellent! Amy, please go find another bedroom and help Maria unpack. When you're done, Maria, come back in here and I'll let you pick a random star to go visit, courtesy of the Doctor."

"Okay."

Amy smiled and motioned for Maria to follow her. Tightly gripping her suitcase handle, she followed Amy up a small set of stairs and down a long hallway. The hallway had many doors, archways, and staircases that led to many different kinds of things like a gym, a pool, a library, an observatory, various kinds of studios, a couple bathrooms, and more than one entrance to a single closet. Maria tried to keep track of what was where so that she could find them whenever she needed, although some of the rooms- like the aquarium- made her question why they were even there in the first place. Who would need an aquarium? Amy started walking up a spiral staircase. Maria paused for a moment to push the handle down on her suitcase before picking it up and racing up the stairs to keep up with Amy.

"So how did you know to look for the TARDIS?" Amy asked, pausing for a moment so Maria could catch up.

"My mom told me to look for it. This is where she wanted me to go after she died." Maria replied, pulling up the handle now that they weren't on the stairs anymore.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Maria lied, looking at her shoes. Inhaling quickly, Maria looked at Amy, "Can we just find my room, please?"

"Of course." Said Amy, who turned back around and started walking again. After a couple of hallways, Amy spoke up once more. "My parents died when I was little. I was living with my aunt when the Doctor found me."

"So you've been traveling with him for a long time, then?" Maria asked, starting to feel somewhat comfortable around Amy.

"Yes, well . . . not _that_ long. The Doctor was having TARDIS problems, and told me he'd be back in five minutes, but it was actually twelve years. So then we saved the world together, with Rory, and then he did it again, but he only missed five years this time. And he hopped in the night before my wedding." Amy explained.

"You're married?"

"To Rory. Rory Pond."

"His last name is Pond?"

"No, mine is."

"I'm confused."

"It is confusing." Amy laughed a little. Maria started to feel less and less like an outsider the more she knew about Amy, even though she still didn't know very much. They turned right down another hallway and stopped a couple doors down. Amy turned the doorknob and poked her head inside. "Alright, this one's a bedroom. I think it'll work." Amy pushed the door open and Maria walked in.

The room was painted a periwinkle blue, and the bed was large and extremely comfy-looking with blue sheets the color of the TARDIS. The floor was dark mahogany wood with a circular rug at the foot of the bed. There was a matching dresser in the far right corner, and there was a TARDIS blue beanbag chair placed next to it. There was a big fancy chandelier-type light in the middle of the ceiling, and it was made of pretty, clear crystals like none Maria had ever seen before. A tall mirror stood in the far left corner, next to a TV and a mini-fridge. Maria gasped.

"Impressive, huh? The TARDIS does a good job at making everything pretty . . . and blue. The Doctor would even say sexy. He even named her Sexy, if you were wondering 'hey, what did the Doctor name the TARDIS?'" Amy explained, making Maria laugh.

"Sexy? He name the TARDIS Sexy? That's fantastic." She giggled, rolling her suitcase to the foot of the bed.

"Yes it is. So if you need any help, There's a phone somewhere in here. Press the blue button and it starts an intercom throughout the TARDIS. So no matter what we'll hear you. It's a new thing. We're still figuring it out. I don't think anyone has ever used it before. Usually he just zaps your phone with his sonic screwdriver and makes it so that you can call anyone, anytime. Alright, I'm going to head back. See you in a minute. " Amy said, smiling once more before turning to go back to the Doctor and Rory.

Maria stared at the room, wondering how in the world this was possible. She was going to live in a blue police box that was actually a time lord ship that was much, much larger on the inside than the outside, with a centurion, a somewhat crazy Doctor, and a friendly red-headed woman. Laughing slightly to herself, Maria started unpacking and within minutes, she was all done and ready to explore. After all, exploring was all she _could_ do. She had forgotten how to get back.

* * *

><p><em>Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. I'd give you my long list of excuses, but something tells me that doesn't really matter. Promise, promise, promise I'll try and update sooner this time. Okay, shout out!<em>

_Ashley: Yep! :)_

_Hugs and Butterfly Kisses!_

_Little.D_


	3. Processing

"Well she seems like a nice girl." Amy said as she walked into the control room of the TARDIS. The Doctor looked up at her and gave a smile, but Amy detected the sadness behind it. "What? Is she like a demon-child or something? Literally?"

"No. Nothing like that." He said, looking back at the small TV screen displaying various readings of different planets Maria might be interested in. Amy raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, but he ignored her. Rory, who had been sitting by patiently, got up and walked over to his wife.

"So where do you think Amy would want to go: Julipitar, the planet of talking trees and plants, or maybe just Earth five hundred thousand years in the future?" Rory asked, clasping her hand in his own. Amy thought for a moment.

"I don't know. I think she'd choose either one, actually." She responded.

"Interesting. I guess we should just do both, then." Rory said, turning to face the Doctor, who was still staring intently at the screen, his eyebrows knit together in slight frustration. After a moment, Rory coughed and the Doctor straightened his bow tie, turned to face them and said, "I need some fish fingers and custard."

"What's wrong?"

The Doctor didn't answer her; he just turned back to and stared at the screen. Amy looked at Rory, who shrugged.

"I'll be right back." She said, squeezing Rory's hand and walking down the hallway towards one of the kitchens.

"Doctor?" Rory asked. The Doctor had started murmuring to himself and pressing various buttons, looking back up at the screen every couple of seconds. The Doctor ignored him and kept working. Rory decided to wait for Amy to get back, because she was better at getting the Doctor to talk.

* * *

><p>Amy walked briskly down the hallway, turning left twice before coming to the kitchen door on her right. She burst in and ran to the freezer. She was itching to go save someone, and she had a feeling the Doctor was going to have to give Maria a rain check on the whole "pick whatever star you want and we'll go visit" deal. She looked through the contents of the freezer, but no fish fingers. Silently cursing, she turned around and speed-walked to the nearest kitchen; still no fish fingers. Finally, Amy went running to the last kitchen in the TARDIS, and nearly tripped over Maria, who was peeking into one of the rooms.<p>

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry." She apologized. Maria looked up at her curiously. "I'm looking for fish fingers and custard."

"Gross." Maria said, scrunching up her face in disgust. Amy shrugged.

"The Doctor likes it, and he asked for it. He seems to like it-or at least ask for it-whenever he needs to process something." Amy explained.

"Well what is he processing?"

"He won't talk. Which is why I'm getting it for him. Otherwise he'd have to go get it himself."

"I'll help you look." Maria offered, turning to the kitchen, following Amy who had started walking towards the freezer already.

"Thanks. . . Well I see fish fingers, but no custard." Amy said, peeking in the regular fridge door. Frowning, she started preparing the fish fingers for the oven.

"Maybe we should make some?"

"Sounds like a plan. Let's see if I can remember from when I was a little girl. We're going to need eggs, milk, sugar, salt and . . . . vanilla!" Amy said, already looking through the cupboards for everything. Maria started getting out things they might need: bowls, spoons, whisks, measuring cups, and measuring spoons. Together, they started furiously making custard, while the fish fingers cooked in the oven.

* * *

><p>"The readings for Julipitar . . . they're off." The Doctor frowned. Rory sat up straight; maybe he didn't need Amy to make the Doctor talk.<p>

"What's off?" he asked.

"Something's wrong. There shouldn't be such a low oxygen reading. I mean, it's a planet completely filled with plants. They give off oxygen, it's what they do." The Doctor replied, looking at the screen, confusion written on his face.

"So what does that mean, Doctor?"

"Something has happened to the plants, and it isn't good."

"Well what can we do to help?" Rory asked, walking over the Doctor and peering over his shoulder at the screen.

"Well, for starters, we're going to have to go pay Julipitar a visit." The Doctor answered. Rory rolled his eyes.

"Well of course we are, it's what we do: save planets, help people . . . right?"

"Not everything in the universe is a person, Rory."

"I'm sorry. We help different _species._ Better?"

"A little bit. But that's not the point. The point is that we need to figure out what's happening. For all we know, there could just be some kind of disease. Oh, I like diseases. Lots of fun." The Doctor said, clapping his hands together. Rory coughed.

"Disease is fun?"

"Well don't you have fun curing diseases? I mean you were a nurse."

"That wasn't really what I did. That's the doctor's job."

"I know, which is why we're going to check it out." The Doctor smiled, making Rory roll his eyes. The Doctor stood up, pressed various buttons, pulled and pushed levers, and spun knobs, causing the TARDIS to start traveling to Julipitar.

* * *

><p>Amy and Maria had the custard in a bowl, and the fish fingers piled neatly onto a plate. They were speed walking to get back to the Doctor and his processing. With Amy in the lead, holding the fish fingers, and Maria hot on her heels holding the bowl of custard, they reached the control room right as the Doctor finished setting the TARDIS on the course of Julipitar. The sudden jolt of the TARDIS caused Maria to trip and spill the custard all over Amy, who in turn fell and sent fish fingers flying. Rory watched as Amy got up, wiping custard out of her hair, and pointed to the Doctor.<p>

"You're buying me a new shirt, mister."

* * *

><p><em>Hola. So<br>A: Ten points to Gryffindor! I got this chapter up at a reasonable distance from the last one! Yaaay!_

_B: It **is** a really short chapter, to which I apologize. This is sort of just an introduction to the next chapter- which I've already got started. _

_C: What do you guys think? Give me your opinions on what you think is going on on Julipitar (Not to be confused with Jupiter). Who knows? Maybe I'll work some of them in. Although I DO know where I'm going with this story. I'm proud of myself. That's rare. Anywhoo. _

_ Hugs and Butterfly Kisses!_

_Little D_


	4. Welcome to Julipitar

The Doctor simply nodded and looked past Amy to Maria. "Are you okay, Maria?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm pretty sure, anyways. There's nothing wrong, other than some custard on my shirt-sorry about that, by the way." Maria replied, trying not to throw up. The Doctor nodded again, and just like that, he was concentrating on the monitor and pressing buttons again. Rory had left shortly after watching Amy get up, leaving Amy slightly frustrated. Maria sat awkwardly on the floor, tracing circles on the railing. After a moment, Rory came back with something balled up in his hands. Walking over to Amy, he handed what was in his hands to her, and asked, "So how long until we're there?"

Amy shook out what was now in her hands to see that Rory had gotten her a new shirt. Smiling, she kissed him on the cheek, and quickly left to go change. The Doctor paused for a moment.

"Probably about half an hour? We're not traveling in _time,_ but it's pretty far from Earth." He said, adjusting his bow tie. Maria noticed and smirked.

"Nice bow tie."

"Thank you. Bow ties are cool." The Doctor said, admiring his bow tie. Rory gave a quiet chuckle. They waited in silence until Amy came back, clearly happy to be in a non-custard-covered shirt. She sat on the floor next to Maria, and started telling her about some of the adventures they'd had on the TARDIS. Before everyone knew it, the TARDIS jolted to a halt and they'd arrived.

"Alright everyone. Welcome," the Doctor started, pushing the doors open, "to Julipitar."

Everyone stepped out into the tiny clearing and Maria gasped. Giant, beautiful, green bushes surrounded them, as well as tall, thick trees, with bright, colorful, sweet-smelling flowers of all shapes and sizes laced between their branches and roots. Soft, green, purple, and silver grass blanketed the ground. A little bit of sunlight peeked in through the thick roof of leaves, polka dotting the ground with rays of gold. The air was fresh, and filled with thousands of different perfumes, making Maria feel slightly dizzy, but enchanted. It was, to say the least, beautiful in every way.

"I knew you'd like it." the Doctor said, though he seemed distracted. He was staring off into one of the bushes; studying it. It was big and shaped like a wall, as if it were guarding something, and the leaves had a shimmery silver tint to them. Rory and Amy noticed it too, because they both started staring, as well. Amy walked closer to the bush.

"Hello?" she called, leaning so close to the bush, her nose touched some of the leaves. There was a soft rustling, and then silence.

"We're not here to hurt you. I promise. I'm the Doctor, and this is Amy, Rory, and Maria. We just want to help. I know something's wrong. Could you fill us in?" the Doctor asked, taking a small step towards the bush. There was a little more rustling, and then a face poked out of the bush, followed by a body. It was a girl. Her skin was green, and she had small vines wrapping around her arms like ribbons. She was tiny, although very lean. She had a short, green hair, like grass growing out of her head, just barely framing her face. She had small, elf-like features with big, emerald green eyes filled with confusion and curiosity. She was beautiful.

Her eyes studied the TARDIS, then the Doctor, then Amy and Rory, before finally settling on Maria.

"Why are you here?" she asked, her voice like liquid honey.

"Well Maria here just joined our little, uh, team here, and I wanted to take her somewhere special. I noticed, however, that the oxygen levels were very low for a planet filled with plants and trees. So we came to investigate." The Doctor answered, studying the girl before them.

"Um, Doctor?" Rory whispered, "She's not wearing any clothes."

"Well don't be stupid, Rory. She's a plant! Why would she need clothes?"

"I can put something on, if it would make the centurion happy." The plant-girl said, offering a small smile to Rory.

"Yes, yes, that would be much appreciated." Amy nodded, sending Rory a don't-even-think-about-it look. Rory blushed and looked at his feet. The plant-girl nodded and suddenly the vines around her arms moved to wrap themselves around her body, more leaves growing to cover her up more completely. After only a couple of seconds, she was fully covered, and her new dress resembled something you would see on Tinker Bell.

"Yes, well, now that that's taken care of, what's your name?" The Doctor asked. The girl stared at him, and you could see the debate in her eyes. 'Do I tell this odd man and his friends my name? Or do I wait until I know he won't hurt me?' After a full five minutes of silence, the girl opened her mouth.

"Ivy."

"Well it's nice to meet you Ivy. As I said before, this is Amy, Rory, and Maria. I'm the Doctor."

"You're a Doctor?"

"I'm _the _Doctor. Although, Rory was a nurse."

"Can you help us?" Ivy asked, desperation showing in her eyes. Maria felt a pang of pity, and wanted to say she could help, but she wasn't sure what needed helping.

"Well in order to help, I'll need to know what's going on, first. Could you . . . ?" Ivy nodded.

"It all started a month ago. I was taking care of some of the new saplings when my friend came running through the forest. He told me to stop what I was doing, and go check something out. Something had happened. I was almost done anyways, so I followed him. We ran all the way to the other side of the lake, and into a large clearing that was being prepared for new plants. But the clearing wasn't empty anymore. There was a large ship in the middle of it, and our people were starting to gather around. My friend and I weaseled to the front of the crowd to get a better look. Then a man came out. He looked not unlike you, although he had no hair, and was exceptionally muscular. My people tried greeting him, and assisting him, because he had clearly crashed, but . . . he laughed. Then a scrawny man came out of the ship, and he was carrying a . . . syringe? The big man said that he was here to assist _us_, not the other way around. He said that he had brought a medicine, to help us live longer. My people-who have never truly known evil- accepted this and let him, give them the medicine. But my people, they started becoming ill. The man told us it was just a side effect, and that they'd be better in no time. But my people started dying. The man insisted that that was okay. But I don't believe him. More plants are dying every day, and it's dangerous to be in plant form. It's almost as if he's poisoned the air that we need to live. And besides the fact that all of these plants are dying, more men and ships are appearing every other day. Some of the healthy plants have been hearing rumors about this being an invasion. They say that they're purposely poisoning us so they can move into our planet. They're taking our home from us." Ivy explained, choking over the last couple of sentences. The Doctor looked at her with concern. She sat on the ground, her head in her hands, silently crying. Amy and Rory exchanged looks. No one was sure what to do. Maria walked over and sat next to Ivy.

"I know what it's like." Maria whispered, rubbing Ivy's back the way her mother used to, "To have lost someone you love. And I know it's not the same, because you've lost so many more, but . . . I do understand. And I promise we'll do our best to help."

Ivy looked at Maria from between her fingers. After a moment, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Thank you."

"No problem." The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Maria, who shrugged.

"Now, Ivy. You said you had a friend . . . can we speak with him, also?" the Doctor asked. Ivy nodded.

"I can take you to him, but he might not be able to answer all of your questions."

"Why not?" Rory asked. A fresh batch of tears spilled from Ivy's eyes, and Amy flashed Rory a look.

"He's ill. He's been ill for a few days." Ivy cried. Maria rubbed her back and offered a hug, which Ivy graciously accepted. Rory's mouth formed a small 'o'. They waited for a few minutes for Ivy to calm down, before she started leading them to her friend. They followed her through the maze of trees, bushes, vines, and flowers, wishing they could admire the beauty for just a minute longer. But they all knew they had no time to waste. After ten minutes of walking, Ivy stopped.

"Shh, hide!" she whispered. Everyone shrunk back into the bushes. A group of men walked by, holding syringes filled with a purple liquid.

" . . .Yeah, I was taking care of this one pink thing and it told me I was being rude. I just gave it a shot of this," one man said, patting the syringe in his hand, "and it was out. Doubt it'll be calling me rude anytime soon."

The other men laughed as they hacked their way through the forest, breaking vines and crushing flowers as they walked. Maria could feel Ivy tense up besides her, and start to lunge after the men. Maria placed her hand on Ivy's arm, and mouthed, "Relax". Ivy stayed tense, but stopped moving.

After everyone was sure that it was safe to come out again, they all started walking to Ivy's friend again, in the hopes of getting more information. Ivy stormed through the forest, stopping occasionally to touch a sickly tree or flower. Her short green hair seemed to stand up in all directions, like pins in a pincushion. Everyone followed diligently behind her, trying to ignore the rage radiating off Ivy. The farther into the forest they went, the less angry Ivy seemed to be until eventually she was back to walking at a normal pace, and there was even a thoughtful smile on her face.

"You know, my friend, he's kind of a celebrity on Earth." She said.

"Really?" the Doctor asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah." She nodded. "He was in a movie. _Where the Red Fern Grows_ . . . Have you ever heard of it?"

"That was my favorite movie as a kid!" Amy gasped. "I cried every time."

Ivy nodded. "He did a spectacular job; especially since he was so young."

"So your friend is a red fern?" Rory asked, only slightly confused.

"We call him Red. He's not so red anymore though. He's turned more of a rusty reddish-brown. It's the illness. Back when he was healthy, he was as red as a rose, and as vibrant as a sunset. His personality is just as vibrant, I should probably mention. I don't know how he is right now, but sometimes he can be a little overwhelming." Ivy warned, stopping to push some beautiful honeysuckle vines out of the way. Amy picked one and stopped momentarily to eat the sweet nectar inside.

"Oh my gosh. This is the best honeysuckle in the entire universe." She exclaimed, reaching for another one.

"Keep up Amy!" Rory called. Everyone had continued while Amy had started devouring the honeysuckle bush. Turning around, everyone watched as Amy walked through the curtain of honeysuckles vines with a handful of honeysuckles peeking out from between the fingers of both of her closed fists. Ivy frowned, her eyes trained on the amount of flowers and the bare spot on the bush.

"Don't grab any more. Those aren't meant to be completely devoured. They're not animals." Ivy grumbled, turning her back on Amy and walking over to a big, thick, oak tree. She knocked on the trunk five times. "Hello? Wisteria? Are you and Red still in there?"

Everyone watched as suddenly the tree shrunk and formed itself into a person. Two other people appeared too. One short, rusty-red man who stood holding the hand of a beautiful pale green girl with long, periwinkle blue hair that fell in ringlets down her back, closely resembling wisteria petals. The closer she looked, Maria could see that, in fact, her hair wasn't in ringlets, but were the actual petals themselves. Ivy seemed excited to see Red standing, and turned to introduce everyone.

"Wisteria, Red, this is Amy, Rory, Maria, and the Doctor. Guys, this is Red and Wisteria. I promise, Wisteria, they are on our side. " Ivy said, shooting the periwinkle-haired girl a look. Wisteria gave a wave and a small smile, but it didn't reach her pale blue eyes.

"The name's Red. I know she just said that, but I wanted to introduce myself. Doesn't seem quite right that I have to have someone else introduce me, you know?" Red said, stepping forward to shake everyone's hand. However, the second he took that step, his legs gave out and he collapsed, landing in a crumpled heap on the forest floor.

* * *

><p><em>Aloha!<em>

_Okay, so, I promised longer chapters In the beginning, and I have to say, this is a pretty long one (For me, anyways). So, I want to know everyone's opinion. What do you think of Ivy so far? I'm proud to say that I have posted chapter around a once a week for the past two chapters! Yay! Reviews are always encouraged, and greatly appreciated. _

_Hugs and Butterfly Kisses,_

_Little.D._


	5. Ill

"Red!" Ivy screamed, lunging forward in an attempt to catch him. Wisteria's eyes were wide in shock. "No, no, no, come on, buddy. You've made it this far."

By now, the oak person had transformed back into the tree. Red shuddered and looked up at Ivy, who was having a panic attack. He gave a small chuckle. "I'm fine, Ivy. Geez, you'd think you were my mother."

Ivy frowned. "Not true."

"Sorry, baby doll. But that one is totally true." Red smirked. Wisteria stifled a giggle. Ivy stood up and walked away, the vines around her body angrily constricting around her. Red pushed himself up into a sitting position and patted the soft purple grass around him. The Doctor, Amy, Rory and Maria all went and sat in a big circle. Red turned around and motioned for Wisteria to join. She looked cautiously at everyone before shaking her head. Red shrugged and turned back to everyone.

"So what's up?" Red asked, looking at the Doctor.

"Well we heard about what's going on here, and we would like to know more. The more information we have, the more we can be of assistance." The Doctor explained. Red studied the Doctor for a moment.

"Well alright then! I assume that's why you came here. I can also safely assume, I'm sure, that Ivy told you her side of the story?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, well. First, I'm going to have to ask that we do this in the privacy of Oakland. He's got a very warm and comforting interior."

Amy stifled a giggle. Rory tried not to burst into laughter. The Doctor simply nodded. Maria raised an eyebrow. The big oak tree shrunk back down to a person. Looking closer, Maria could see he was a middle-aged man with brown, cracked, leathery skin (not unlike bark), and big, brown eyes. His hair-vibrant green oak leaves- fell to just under his ears. He gestured to everyone to go near him. Red, with the help of Wisteria, slowly stood up and walked to Oakland. Everyone followed hesitantly behind.

"Not this is going to feel tight for a minute. So you guys might want to do a big group hug to preserve as much space as possible." Ivy instructed, still glaring at Red, but finally back with the group. Everyone did as she suggested, and huddled together in a big group hug. Oakland started to grow and mold around them, and for a minute, everything went dark. The air felt recycled, and just like Ivy had warned, it was very tight for a moment-but only for a second. Then everyone could breathe again, and there was room to move. Maria, who had had her eyes shut, opened one of them and gasped slightly. The inside of Oakland was, as Red had surprisingly accurately explained, cozy. There was a small fireplace, with a warm glow-not a flame-spreading heat throughout the space. There were a few benches to sit on, with hand-sewn oak leave pillows, a table growing from the ground, and the ground beneath them was still a bed of grass, like a soft, green carpet.

"Wow." She whispered. Ivy heard her and smiled.

"Yeah, incredible. A tree can turn into a home on the inside- if not a completely functional one. It's a great hiding spot, too. And, as you can see, trees can keep themselves warm without burning down." She said, gesturing to the glow in the fireplace. Red had walked over, with the help of Wisteria, and sat down next to the glow.

"Ah!" He cried, and one of his hands shot to his chest. He closed his eyes in pain, and Wisteria looked at him worriedly.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet, like wind chimes. Red didn't answer, instead grimacing and throwing his head back with another loud cry. Ivy paled. She looked around, panicking.

"Oakland! Oakland, where's the cabinet? I need to find that remedy that Aspen gave me! She said it'll help with the pain!" Ivy screeched, looking up Oakland's trunk. The wood around them creaked and right in front of their eyes, a cabinet formed against one of the walls. Ivy ran to it, threw open the door, and grabbed what looked like bark from the inside of a tree, and started breaking it up into small, easy bites. "Water, water, water. OAKLAND."

A root poked up from the ground, and slowly, like a leaky faucet, water dripped out into a small hole in the ground. Ivy grabbed a wooden cup from the table, and thrust it under the water, looking back at Red every two seconds. Red was curled up in a ball on the ground, writhing in pain, his hand ripping small holes in the red leaves covering his chest. Wisteria was watching him, a worried look engraved in her elfin features as she stroked his hair, whispering encouraging things like "It's okay. You're going to be okay, Ivy is getting something to help the pain. Shh, it's going to be alright."

Rory walked over to Ivy. "Is there anything I can do to help? I was a nurse back on Earth."

"I do not need your help. Even if I did find something for you to do, there is no chance he'll survive." Ivy said gravely as she walked over to Red with the water and Aspen bark. "Here Red, eat this."

Ivy offered him some bark, and Red opened his mouth. Ivy carefully shoved some into his mouth, and asked him to chew as best as he could. Red chewed, wincing with every bite. Ivy asked him to open his mouth, and she helped him drink some of the water.

"Actually, find something we can put over his head. To keep him cool." Ivy said, looking up at Rory, who nodded. He raced over to one bench, grabbed a pillow, and tore some leaves off. Handing them to Ivy, Rory kneeled down and felt his forehead.

"He feels like he might have a fever. And that's going by human standards. What would you say is the normal temperature for one of you when you're in your . . .um . . . person state?" he asked. Ivy dampened the leaves, placed them carefully over Red's forehead, and ran her hand gently done the side of Red's arm.

"Going by human standards, I'd say about the same, maybe a little less." She answered.

"And what did you give him?"

"Aspen bark. It's to help relieve the pain."

"Like aspirin?"

"I don't know what that is."

"Right . . ."

"Is he going to be okay?" Wisteria asked, her eyes wet with tears.

"For now, I believe so. But I don't know very much about this disease. What does it . . . do, exactly?" Rory asked.

"Yes, what does it do?" repeated the Doctor. For a moment, neither Wisteria nor Ivy answered. Instead, they chose to watch Red as he slowly stopped writhing and drifted off into sleep. Then Ivy sighed.

"First, you get very tired all of the time. Then you get thirsty. Then, you get weaker and weaker, until you can't stand on your own. Sometimes there are other things too, like a fever and poisoning of the veins in our stems and leaves. Sometimes you develop other diseases too. In Red's case, he gets attacked everywhere. He has terrible headaches, on-again off-again fevers, sudden pain in his chest while in, as you said earlier, the person state. He has nightmares. Then, it decays your roots until you cannot get nutrients for yourself. It's the most deadly while in plant form, because that's when it can attack your roots. You don't have roots in the person state. You have feet. And you get nutrients through your mouth. We you use less energy in plant form, so it's easier to stay comfortable that way. There are less side effects. Less . . . pains. But that's when you die. So we have to keep Red like this, even if it hurts, because it's the only thing keeping him alive." She explained, never taking her eyes off Red. The Doctor studied Ivy as she talked, noticing the urgency with which she spoke and the subtle fear laced in her words.

"I'm so sorry." Maria said from her spot sitting on a bench. "Is there nothing you can do at all except eat Aspen bark and stay in person form?"

"Nothing we have discovered yet."

There was silence. Red frowned in his sleep. Rory reached over to feel his forehead again. He was still feeling too hot for his comfort. At his touch, Red tensed up, and opened his mouth. Rory pulled his hand back, watching. Red let out a loud scream. Wisteria, who at some point had stood up and walked towards the water, ran over and stroked his head again.

"Shh, Red it's alright. It's just the human man. He's checking your temperature. That's all. Nothing to worry about. He's not gonna hurt you." She said, trying to keep her voice calm, but not being able to keep a few tears from rolling down her cheeks. Ivy looked up at the visitors.

"Obviously we can't get you more information until Red wakes up. So make yourselves comfortable. We could be here a while."

* * *

><p><em>Aloha! <em>

_So sorry I didn't update sooner. I don't really have an excuse. _

_But here is the next chapter! Also, we will have a little more on Maria in the next chapter. _

_Reviews are greatly appreciated, so review away!_

_Hugs and Butterfly Kisses,_

_Little.D_


	6. Nightmares

An hour later and Red was still knocked out from the Aspen bark. Everyone had taken to simply sitting around watching him or the glow in the fireplace. It was quiet, and everyone was starting to get sleepy. Amy had already started to drift off, snuggled up against Rory- who was happily accepting the affection. Maria could feel herself drifting, but tried her best to stay awake. She knew it was too early to sleep. It was only the afternoon, after all.

So why did it feel like the middle of the night?

'Maybe because it's nice and cozy warm in here. And that grass is really soft. . . like a Tempur-Pedic pillow. . . In fact, it looks even more comfortable than that. Like . . . sleeping on a pile of clouds. Warm, fluffy clouds.' Maria felt her eyelids start to close, and realizing she was about to fall asleep, pinched her arm.

"Ow!" she whispered, causing the Doctor to look at her curiously. "Pinched myself."

The Doctor nodded, adjusting his bow tie for what seemed like the hundredth time within the last five minutes alone. Irked by this, Maria rolled her eyes. Though she couldn't blame him. There was nothing else to do.

Wisteria- who had fallen asleep a while ago- suddenly bolted upright, her eyes wide open and fear etched on her face. Ivy turned her attention from the sleeping Red to Wisteria, eyebrows raised.

"Are you okay?" she asked, but the other just sat there, eyes open, goose bumps on her skin, and petals a mess. "Wisteria?"

"Is she alright?" Maria asked. Ivy glared at her.

"Gee, she sure looks alright, and she said she was alright, so she must be alright." Ivy snarled, sarcasm dripping off every syllable.

"Sorry. I didn't know if maybe this has happened before. Like if it was a regular thing or not." Maria said, hands raised.

"Well if it _did _I sure as hell wouldn't have _asked _her, now would I?"

"Hey! I'm not trying to start a fight! I just wanted to know if she's alright!"

"Of course, of course. You're just the perfect little human, aren't you? Proper and polite and love everyone you meet. And I'm willing to bet they all love you back, am I right? Oh, and I'm sure you just _have_ to make sure everyone is alright, so if they're not, you get to be the hero. Am I right? Do you want to be the hero?"

"What the hell is your problem with me?"

"You're nosy, _that's _my problem."

"I'm nosy for asking if Wisteria is alright?"

"YES! It's none of your business!"

"Are you always like this?"

"Like what?"

"A total bitch."

Ivy gasped, her green hair standing up in all directions from her anger. Her hands were fists, and she stood up, slowly walking over to Maria.

"You want to say that again?" Ivy snarled, jabbing her finger into Maria's collarbone. Maria tightened her jaw.

"You. Are. A. Total. Bitch." Maria said through gritted teeth.

"That's it, you're going to get it, _human._" Ivy raised her fist, preparing to punch Maria, who was raising her own fists to do the same.

"Bring it on, _weed._"

"Alright! Alright! Stop fighting! Geez. One of you needs to get out, _now_ and go get some fresh air. Whoever doesn't go needs to cool off in a different room, away from the others." Rory said, standing up and pushing Ivy and Maria apart. Ivy and Maria glared at each other, and you could almost physically feel the heat radiating off them.

"I'll go." Maria said.

"Don't let yourself trip over the roots on your way out!" Ivy smirked. Maria rolled her eyes and knocked on Oakland.

"Can I get out for a moment, Oakland?" she asked. Creaking, Oakland created an archway, which Maria quickly stormed out of, her hands stilled balled into fists. Rory watched as Oakland closed the archway, leaving them all trapped inside once more. Ivy turned and walked up stairs that seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

"I'll be up here if you need me." She called, already halfway up the stairs.

The Doctor, who hadn't noticed any of the fighting, was sitting by Wisteria now.

"Can you hear me?" he whispered. Wisteria didn't respond. "If you can hear me blink twice. . . please."

Slowly- very, very, slowly, she blinked once, then again a second time. The Doctor nodded. "Good. Now, I need you to relax. Close your eyes."

Wisteria closed her eyes.

"Can you still hear me?"

A small, almost unnoticeable nod.

"Good. Now, you're very tense. Can you relax your shoulders for me?"

A minute passed before she relaxed.

"Great, now lie down for me, please."

Nothing. Not even after ten minutes.

"Please, Wisteria?"

A small head shake.

"Can you tell me why not?"

Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

"I didn't quite catch that."

"The nightmares. No more, no more. Don't make me. Don't make me, please." She whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"What nightmares?"

"_The_ nightmares. The bad ones."

"Which ones are those again?"

There was a long pause.

"I can't."

"_Please._" The Doctor whispered, reaching out to touch her arm. The second he made contact, she tensed, shot her eyes open, dropped her jaw, and let out a shrill scream. The Doctor pulled his hand away instantly, but she didn't stop screaming. "How do we get her to stop?"

"Um, try some of the Aspen bark?" Rory suggested, sounding slightly unsure of himself. Ivy ran down the stairs, worry written across her face.

"What did you _do_?" she asked, kneeling beside Wisteria, attempting to give her a hug. Wisteria acted as if she couldn't feel anything. She seemed almost frozen, if you ignored the shrill shrieking.

Rory was frantically looking for more of the Aspen bark. Finding some, he tried to remember what Ivy had done earlier. He got some water, walked over to Wisteria, ripped small pieces off the bark, and started feeding her. The shrieking stopped while she chewed. When Rory lifted to cup to her lips, she drank slowly, as if already drifting into sleep again. The Aspen seemed to have worked. She was fast asleep in moments, and she seemed peaceful again. No one noticed as Red opened his eyes.

"Nightmares. Nightmares. What are her nightmares?" the Doctor asked, turning to Ivy. Ivy shrugged.

"No idea. This is the first I've heard of them."

"Same here." Red said, lying on his side, one hand supporting his head, the other limp across his side.

"Red!" Ivy said, looking at him in shock. "You're awake."

"That I am baby doll. What did I miss? I don't see that blonde haired human anywhere. Where'd she run off to?"

Ivy opened her mouth to answer, but Rory cut her off.

"Ivy and her had a little . . . dispute. She's out getting some fresh air and cooling down."

Red laughed. "Did Ivy get bitchy again?"

Ivy frowned, her face turning a bright pink, which made her look like a watermelon.

Rory hesitated to answer.

"It's alright to say if she was, she won't bite. She likes to pretend she will, but she won't. She's not cruel enough to do that. Right baby doll?" Red said, eyeing Ivy. Ivy looked away, crossing her arms across her chest. "That's her way of saying yes."

"Then in that case, yes. A little bit." Rory answered, taking a couple of steps back, just to be safe. Ivy turned around, staring daggers at Rory.

"Oh, relax a little, baby doll! You know just as well as I do that you have the shortest fuse of anyone on this dying planet." Red laughed, reaching out to rest his hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever."

Red laughed.

* * *

><p>It was cold. Colder than she'd remembered. And darker. Now that she thought about it, it was foggier, too. A shiver ran up Maria's spine as she stepped away from the tree. She'd sat for twenty minutes, waiting to see if anyone would let her back in, but had had no luck. Now she wanted to explore- at least within a couple of yards. She was too bored.<p>

Squinting, Maria tried to see which was the way they'd come in. After looking all around with not even a little hint of familiarity, she picked a direction at random and started walking. She had her hands raised, like she used to whenever she played Cherrybomb with her mother and the neighborhood kids. Cherrybomb was like tag, but on a playground, and the person who was "it" had their eyes closed. If you were touching the ground when the person who was "it" called out cherrybomb, then you became it. Other than that, you had to be tagged. It was very dangerous, considering that if you were "it" and decided to venture onto the playground equipment, you could very easily fall off, or run into something and hit your head. Thinking back on a couple of situations where this was the case, Maria finally understood why her mother didn't like her playing that game.

She felt the rough bark of a tree trunk, and pulled herself close to the tree, almost hugging it. She sidled around the trunk, shaking her head to shoo away a mosquito that had flown onto her cheek. Once she had reached the other side, she stepped away. Tentatively, she continued to walk. After a minute or two, she felt something wet and cold surround her ankles. Gasping, she stumbled backwards, tripped over a root, and fell onto her butt. Shaking it off, she rolled over so she was on her hands and knees, and crawled to where she got wet. When she was closer up, she could see it was a creek. But it didn't look like it was filled with water. Not healthy to drink water, anyways. The water was dark and ominous, and thrashing about. She watched as the black waters leapt and crashed and attacked the banks, coating her hands in the stuff. She lifted her hand to her face, noticing how the water had blackened her hand- as if it were oil, instead.

An overwhelming stench filled her nostrils and she coughed, holding her hand away from her face. She couldn't stop coughing, now, and she felt herself convulse as if she were about to vomit. Her vision went blurry and all of a sudden she was back in her mother's hospital room.

_Her mother's blonde hair was held back by the nurse in the crisp white uniform. She watched as her mother vomited into the toilet, blood staining the sides of her mouth. Maria couldn't stand to watch, but at the same time, couldn't look away. She felt herself grow nauseous as the smell of her mother's vomit wafted over to her, and she forced herself to cover her eyes. _

_ The nurse looked at Maria, pity sketched across her face. No child should have to see this. Even if it meant the medication was working. Even if it meant she could very possibly recover. It was scarring, and changed the way you saw your mother. You would see her smiling, asleep and peaceful in reality, but in your memory, you would watch repeatedly as she hurled out every last drop of blood there seemed to be inside of her; as she refused to keep her food down. _

_ Finally it stopped. The nurse handed Maria's mother a napkin to wipe her mouth, then let go of her hair. _

_ "Are you alright, dear?" the nurse asked. Maria's mother nodded. "Alright. Just buzz me if you think it'll happen again, okay?" _

_ Maria's mother nodded once more. The nurse started to leave, but hesitated in the doorway. "Sweetheart?" _

_ Maria looked at the nurse. _

_ "Hang in there." _

_ Turning to her mother, who was curled up on the floor of the hospital bathroom crying, Maria nodded gravely. _

Hot, salty tears slid down Maria's cheek. Suddenly, she wished she were back with the Doctor and Amy and Rory and Wisteria and Red and even Ivy. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

* * *

><p><em>Hello. <em>

_So i know I said I'd have more on Maria this chapter, and I honestly planned on having more than the flashback, but the chapter started getting long, so now it's next chapter! We will also be seeing a new character (maybe two, i haven't decided yet) next chapter. _

_Reviews are gladly appreciated, so don't be shy!_

_Hugs and Butterfly Kisses,_

_Little.D._


	7. Cal and Miles

**They walked up to the girl, crying on the ground in a ball. She didn't seem to notice anything going on around her, as she was so absorbed in whatever was going on inside that odd looking head of hers. Giving each other a knowing look, they kneeled down, scooped her up in their arms, and carried her away. **

She was vaguely aware of someone picking her up. She assumed it was the Doctor, Rory or Amy, and so paid no attention to it. She was too busy trying to keep herself from falling apart. She kept replaying the last moments of her mother's life in her head. The sudden swarm of emotions- loss, depression, heart-wrenching sadness, and overwhelming fury- consumed her again as she obsessed over it. She wished she could tell someone. Maybe she'd tell the Doctor. She trusted him. If her mom did, then why shouldn't she, right?

It got warm and cozy again, and she remembered Oakland. She remembered her fight with Ivy. Red-hot fury filled her veins again, and she thrashed about in the Doctor's arms.

**She was mumbling. "Oakland . . . .Doctor . . . . gotta. . . I gotta tell . . . Doctor. . ." **

** "She sure is an odd one, eh Cal?" **

_** "**_**The oddest we've found yet. I wonder what they gave her." Cal said, smirking at his friend. **

** "Yeah. Probably that new one they're working on. Which means they'd want us to take her to the lab, right?"**

** "Probably. . . but I don't think we should take her there just yet. The lab's been really full lately. Hey Miles. You know what we should do?" **

** "I have a feeling I know what you're thinking, and I can tell you now- NO. She's off limits, pervert. She's obviously a test subject." **

** Cal looked down at the limp girl in his arms, watching her thin pink lips move just the slightest as she continued to mumble in her sleep. She frowned, and all of a sudden she was screaming something like "I have the right to ask if I want to" and swinging her arms out as if trying to punch someone. **

** "SHIT." Cal whisper-shouted, dropping her on the ground as her fist met his jaw. **

The Doctor dropped her. _Dropped her. _Jolted out of her half-awake state, she was aware of two guys staring at her. One (sandy blonde hair, golden eyes, caramel skin) had wide eyes, and was looking between her and the other man (Stringy red hair, smelled like Menthol, almost translucent gray skin with green and pinky-red lines all over) who was rubbing his jaw, glaring at her.

They were most definitely _NOT _the Doctor.

"Wh-where am I? Who are you? Where's the Doctor?" she asked, frantically looking around for him.

"The doctor? You know about him?" the blonde one asked me, eyebrows raised.

"Yes, moron, I _know about him. _Now where is he?" she asked, her fear putting her on edge.

"Spicy. Nice. Leave it to Doc to find one. The guy's got great taste in subjects."

"_Subject?_ The Doctor? No. No, Amy and Rory aren't _subjects_ and neither am I."

"Who are Amy and Rory?"

That's when it hit her: Different kind of doctor.

"No one."

"Great, she's just as psycho conscious as she is unconscious. Well, half conscious" said the stringy redhead, a black bruise already forming along his jaw.

"_Excuse me?_"

"I think maybe we _should _take her to the lab. Just to, you know, double check the brain scans." The blonde-haired man said, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"Lab? Where am I?"

"Maybe you're right, man."

"Are you going to answer me, or am I going to have to shout?" Maria asked, annoyed.

" . . . Let's just take her to the ward. You know, see if someone recognizes her as a subject. Normally the subjects know everything. But then again this one could just be an idiot." The blonde said.

That's it. Now she's pissed. Jumping to her feet, she raised a fist as if to punch them.

"Now I don't know what the _heck_ is going on, but I would most certainly like to know. And I'll have you know I'm no _subject. _Nor am I _psychotic_. I'm irritated, confused, and would like some answers. . . _now._" She said; her whole body tense. The men watched her with increasing curiosity.

"Dibs." whispered the redhead, not so subtly.

_Thump._

He fell to the floor in an unconscious, crumpled heap.

"Pig." She said, looking up at the blonde. "Would you like to answer my questions now?"

"Yeah, yeah let's go do that." He said, eyes wide.

"Good, now I would li-"

"Not here. And we need to move this moron first."

"Why? I think he makes a great rug." She said, lightly kicking him in the side.

"Because this is a hospital and someone unconscious in the hallways suggest either someone trying to escape, or someone within the hospital bent on hurting someone."

"Or someone passed out in the hallway."

"Not with a bruise like that." Said the blonde, pointing at the black and blue half of the redhead's face.

"Fine." She said, looking around for a janitor's closet or something to throw him into. Finding none, she frowned.

"I've got him, follow me." Said the blonde, picking up the drooling redhead.

She hesitated only a second before following him as he walked away, the redhead slung over his shoulder.

**Definitely not a subject. Nor a patient. Nor a nurse. She was too . . . confused. She seemed almost other-worldly, she acted so out of place. **

**But that's impossible since no aircrafts had come down since the boss man. **

**He glanced back at her; following him, pouting. He agreed with Cal in that she certainly was attractive- you know, for a psycho- he just wasn't nearly as obnoxious about it. But it wasn't like he hadn't noticed. . .**

**But that's not the point. She's crazy, and now holding them **_**almost-**_**hostage. Almost in that, well, she wasn't actually holding them hostage. She was just a really, really pissed psychopath. But who could blame her? Waking up in the arms of a stranger, in a strange place, with no idea what happened or how you got there . . . who wouldn't go psycho? **

**Checking around the corner of the hallway, and seeing it empty, Miles rushed quickly to the empty patient's quarters across the hall. Motioning for the girl to follow him, **

**he opened the door and crept in. The girl followed him in, taking a quick look around the room before settling down in one of the reclining chairs. He tossed Cal onto the bed, and sat on the edge of another reclining chair, folding his arms and looking at her. **

** "What would you like to know?"**

"What's your name?"She asked.

"Miles, short for Chamomile. That's Cal, short for Eucalyptus." He replied.

'That explains why he smells like Menthol.' She thought, glancing briefly at the figure on the bed. "Where am I?" She asked, crossing her arms to match the man sitting across from her.

"The only hospital on this planet. Well, it's more of a laboratory."

"Why am I here?"

"We found you, by the river? We didn't think we should leave you out there. That river has been known to drive people so insane they die."

"Wait what?"

"Yep. The river is blood."

"On a planet of plants?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Don't ask me. I'm not the designer."

"What do you do here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just that. What do you do here? You said it's a lab-slash-hospital?"

"We make medicines and fertilizer-type things. Take care of sick plants, find cures for diseases, all of that."

"So why a lab?"

"To make the medicine and experiment with new formulas."

"I see . . ." Maria said, thinking about what Ivy had said about the man coming and claiming he could help them. Was there a chance that . . . No. No, Miles didn't seem evil.

'Doesn't mean his boss isn't. And for all I know, he knows nothing about the deaths.' She thought. Miles watched her intently.

"Is there another question coming?" he asked, but Maria didn't hear him. She looked up at him.

"You work here?"

"Yes, I do."

"Your boss. . . what's he like?"

"This matters because . . . ?"

"Answer the question."

"Fine. The boss man. He's . . . well . . .," Miles scratched his head. "I've actually never met him."

"But in the hall . . . you said something about 'Doc sure knows how to pick them'."

"Yeah, Doc. Not the boss man. No one's ever met the boss man. At least no one who's ever had the guts to admit it. The boss man, well let's just say he doesn't take failure very well," Miles explained, wringing his hands. "Or so I've heard anyways."

"Okay then. Who's Doc?"

"The guy who runs this place. He does all the healing and medicine making and training new doctors and all that good jazz."

"He sounds like the boss to me."

"Trust me- he's not. Not even close."

"Okay, well . . . I think that covers everything I wanted to know." Maria said, biting her lip as she thought. There was something she was forgetting. Something important. She had a bad feeling.

Cal stirred, groaning. Neither Maria nor Miles payed any attention to it. Now that Maria knew what she wanted to know, she had no idea where to go next. Should she stay to investigate? Or try to get back to the Doctor? At the moment she wanted to go back to the Doctor, but knew that she should probably stay.

But that feeling . . . That tickle in the back of her neck, and the butterflies restlessly fluttering in her stomach. That tickle she only got when something bad was going to happen. That flutter that only speared when she was scared. Why was she scared? She certainly had no reason to fear Miles. He seemed nice enough. The redhead, maybe. The jury was still out on that one. Maybe she'd stay for a day or two, and then try to find the Doctor. That seemed reasonable enough, right?

"Hello?" Miles asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly. Maria looked at him, realizing she must have been off in La La Land. "So now what? Are you just going to sit there for the rest of your life? Because, let me tell you, those chairs seem comfy enough in the beginning, but after a couple of hours your butt is going to be killing you."

"Is it alright if I stay here at the . . . Hospital, for a few days? I'm still feeling a little off. That river really made my head hurt."

"You could've fooled me," he stated, "but I suppose I can arrange for it. However, the Hospital doesn't do guests. You've got to be either a patient or a subject."

"What's the deal with subjects?"

"They're who we test the new medicines on. Didn't I say that earlier?"

"You might have." Maria admitted, "Does the testing hurt?"

"Sometimes, but not usually. If you want to stay as a subject, just know you can't ever leave."

"And why is that?"

"You're going to be under constant testing. You can't leave because people need to record the side effects and test how long the medicine works for, yadda yadda yadda." So she either had to be a patient, who most likely wouldn't get to leave the hospital bed at all, or a test subject who isn't allowed to leave. Ever.

Like that was going to stop her.

"Consider me a subject."

Clearly surprised by her choice, Miles clapped his hands. "Well, okay then. I'm going to need background information though."

"What do you need to know?" Maria asked, wondering how much of the truth she should mention.

"Name, age, how you got here, family, friends, who to call in an emergency, allergies, birthday, et cetera."

"My name is Maria. I'm fifteen. My mom died about a year ago. Never met my dad. Or grandparents, aunts, uncles, none of them. Just me and my mom. Um. . . No friends. Not really. Sort of. Maybe. Who to call in an emergency? Well . . ." she hesitated. She was giving information-personal information-to a complete stranger. What was she thinking? She needed to change a few details before he ended up knowing her full life story. "I don't have anyone you could call. No allergies, although I do get a little sneeze-y when it's super dusty. My birthday? Well I don't see the importance in that. You already know how old I am."

"Well, Maria, you failed to answer how you got here."

"You brought me. You and whats-his-face over there."

"No. I mean to the planet. You're obviously not from here."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Well for one, you didn't know about the Blood River."

"Fine. I'm a . . . human."

"Really? That's good. We don't seem to ever have enough of those around here."

If she were a dog, her ears would have perked up.

"Why is that?"

"They're considered an endangered species."

"What year is it?"

"Twenty Forty-Seven. Why?"

"Twenty forty-sev-WAIT. Really?"

"Yes, really. And you have yet to answer the original question, Maria."

"What? How I got here?" Maria asked, an eyebrow raised. She needed to think of something, fast. She wasn't sure what to think of this 'hospital' just yet, and if it turned out that the boss was evil? Well she wouldn't want to rat out the Doctor and Co. She couldn't. It would be morally wrong. "I'm not sure. One second I was taking a hike in my neighborhood, the next thing I know, I take a step in the blood river, flip out, and here we are."

"Hmm."

"Do you think I'd lie?"

"I don't know you well enough to make that judgment."

"Touché."

Cal stirred, stretching his legs. "Augh. I feel like someone repeatedly wacked me with a sledgehammer." He groaned, lifting a hand to massage his jaw.

"That, Cal, was completely your own fault." Miles smirked.

"It really was." Maria said, trying to hide the smile threatening to spread across her face.


	8. The Time Is Near

"So . . . I believe we were supposed to be having a question and answer session, were we not?" Red asked, sitting with his back against Oakland.

"Yes, I believe so. But first," the Doctor turned to Amy, who had woken up, "Would you get Maria?"

"I suppose I can do that." She said, rubbing her eyes and standing up. She looked around, "Where is she?"

"She should be outside. She and Ivy had a little argument, apparently." Red informed her. Nodding, Amy turned and, once Oakland had opened an archway for her, walked outside to retrieve Maria.

Her first thought when she stepped outside was 'Whoa. This is more than a little bit chilly.' Wrapping her arms around her chest, she started to walk around. "Maria? Maria you can come back inside now."

When she received no answer, Amy decided to venture a little further into the forest. Leaves crunched softly underneath her combat boots, and a hazy mist started to form. Amy placed her hand on the trunk of a particularly beautiful violet tree with golden leaves as she stopped to examine what lay before her eyes. There was a big, fat, lazy river a couple of feet from where she stood, and immediately she noticed three things:

The river was blood.

There were three sets of boot prints waking to one particular spot, but only two leaving.

One of those boot prints came from the direction of Oakland.

"Maria. Maria, no. I-I can't . . . She can't be . . . but it doesn't make any sense." She kneeled down to inspect the boot prints. Tracing her finger lightly over the set of prints coming from Oakland's direction Amy bit her lip. What if the boot prints were Maria's? Was she all right? Was she in trouble? What if those men Ivy had mentioned kidnapped Maria? Panicking now, Amy ran as fast as she could back to Oakland. Ramming her fist against Oakland's rough bark, she shouted that Maria was in trouble. Her heart was beating too fast, she was running out of breath too quickly, and suddenly the knocking stopped. First her knees buckled, sending her body falling to the ground with a soft thud. Then her vision grew hazy. She started seeing double, triple, quadruple of everything, and her thoughts became fuzzy. She thought someone was standing over her, but she couldn't be positive. She blinked. 'That felt nice . . .' she thought, and if she were in control of her body she would have smiled. She blinked again; this time keeping her eyes closed slightly longer. 'One more time.' She closed her eyes, and everything went black.

Meanwhile, the inside of Oakland was buzzing with its own activity. Ivy was helping Red stand up, and walking him over to the leaky root/faucet so he could wash his face and drink. Wisteria was awake again, and huddled in a corner, shaking her head and biting her lip as a response to the questions the Doctor was launching at her. Questions like: "What nightmares?" and "Are you alright? Are you feeling better? Do you need something?" Rory was sitting at the table, amusedly watching the Doctor's interactions with the small flower girl while simultaneously worrying about Amy alone in the woods. He had had a bad feeling when she left. He knew that feeling. It was the feeling he had been feeling an awful lot of since he started traveling with the Doctor. A small nagging voice in the back of his head reminding him "This isn't going to go well" accompanied by a flurry of butterflies in his stomach- angry, starving, cannibalistic butterflies.

He really hoped Amy was okay.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rory saw Ivy pouting; her arms crossed in frustration as Red refused to take more of the Aspen bark.

"Baby doll, I'm feeling _fine._ I had my nap, took my medications, and now I'm A-OK. Stop worrying so much. You're going to kill yourself if you worry too much. I'll let you know when I need more." Red was chuckling, watching Ivy grind her teeth. Her green grass-like hair was standing on end again, and her green cheeks were flushed, giving her a very watermelon-esque appearance. Rory couldn't help but crack a smile. Ivy caught the movement and frowned even more, her jaw so tense Rory thought she might just break it. It wouldn't affect her in plant form, he assumed, but it would really hurt should she switch back to a human body.

"So you'll let me know when you're howling in pain again?" Ivy snapped, "Or maybe when you're dead? Yes, that's an excellent idea. Why didn't I think of that? Oh wait, It's a terrible idea!"

Red rolled his eyes. "Baby doll- you are a lost cause. When are you going to see that- even if only for the time being- I. Am. Fine. Okay? I'm _fine._ F-I-N-E, fine. Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine."

"No, you're not! You're ill!" she cried, exasperated.

"That may be true, but I sure as hell don't feel like it."

"UGH!" Ivy stomped her foot in frustration. Red chuckled and lifted a wooden cup filled to the rim with water up to his lips, taking a small sip.

Rory turned his attention back to the Doctor and Wisteria- who was now officially crying.

"Wisteria? What did I say? Why are you crying?" the Doctor asked, trying his best not to simply place his hands upon her forehead and read her mind-assuming, of course, that she'd let him through that particular door in her mind.

"Stop it. Stop ask-*hiccup*-ing so many questi-*hiccup*-ons." She whispered, silver tears slipping down her cheeks and landing on her knees. The Doctor nodded, and they sat there. Doing absolutely nothing but sitting in silence.

There were loud bangs echoing throughout their hideout, accompanied by shouting. Rory bolted up and ran to the walls of Oakland's trunk. He recognized that accent.

"Amy? Amy?" Rory asked, slapping the wall repeatedly in an attempt to get Oakland to open.

_" . . . And the boot prints . . . Maria . . . I think they've . . ."_

"Amy? Amy hold on!" The Doctor rose, pulling his sonic screwdriver out of a pocket inside his jacket before he frowned.

"What is it Doctor?" Rory asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"It's wood. My sonic doesn't do wood. You can't do wood _at all _with _any _sonic device." He looked at Rory. Rory stared. He had remembered this fact but was hoping there might be an exception since Oakland could also become a person. Apparently, there wasn't.

Suddenly, the Doctor was by Rory's side placing his hand on Oakland's inner trunk. 'Oakland? Why won't you open?"

Silence.

"Oakland, our friend could be in trouble. We really need to get out." He tried again.

Nothing.

"Oakland, you open up right now! My _wife _is out there, and if she's in danger, and you won't open up to let us out to _save _her, then. . ." Rory took a deep breath, trying to push down the overwhelming fury consuming his veins, "If my wife is murdered or hurt because you wouldn't open up for _two seconds, _well I'll kill you."

"Rory . . ."

"NO, Doctor! I'll do it. Amy is out there, and I'm stuck in here, and she's screaming and scared. What about River? What if that were River out there, screaming to get in? How would _you _act?" Rory growled, taking a step towards the Doctor. The Doctor looked at his feet. He knew Rory had him trapped in a corner there. If it were River he'd be feeling the same thing.

Neither man noticed when a small archway appeared until Ivy pointed it out minutes later. Rory pushed past everyone else and ran outside in a hurry to get to Amy, who had long since stopped screaming. He didn't see the body lying on the ground, pale and cold, until he nearly tripped over it. Hateful tears threatened to spill over as he kneeled down and pushed the knotted red hair out of the girl's face. At first, he pulled his hand back she was so cold, but then he reached for her again, his hand gently cupping the unconscious woman's face.

"Amy . . ." he whispered, suppressing the lump in his throat, and the hammering in his chest. He felt something, it was a small, almost unnoticeable thumping against his pinkie finger: a pulse. She was okay. Filled with a newfound energy, he checked to see if she was breathing- she was, if only barely, and it was an unnatural pattern. He could feel the eyes of the others as they watched him spring into action- remembering when he had to teach her how to do CPR on him when he was drowning. Compressions, open the airways, breathe. Compressions, open the airways, breathe. He continued the pattern for two or three minutes.

All of a sudden her eyes shot open, and she gasped. Her arms stiffened about and she shook her head. Blinking rapidly, she looked up at Rory, who finally let the tears slip down his cheeks. He could see the confusion on her face, but gave her no time to ask any questions as he pulled her close and kissed her. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she had no problems kissing Rory- even if everyone else was watching awkwardly.

After a minute or so, Rory pulled away, Amy's hand cupping his cheek. Her thumb wiped away one tear that had stuck stubbornly to the outer corner of his eye. She decided not to ask. There was no need to make him feel so poorly again. Not right now.

The Doctor cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

Rory and Amy looked over.

"Now that that's finished," his eyes bored into Amy's "Amy? What was it you were screaming about?"

"Was I screaming?" she asked. Everyone looked at her.

"Yes, you were. Do you not remember?" Ivy questioned.

Frowning, Amy shook her head.

"You were saying something about Maria . . .?" Red prompted.

"No, I'm sorry. I don't remember. Speaking of Maria . . . Where is she?"

Everyone looked at her funny.

"We sent you to look for her. Obviously she wasn't nearby, or she'd be here right now." Red said, taking a quick scan of the area. Softly, he shook his head. Maria definitely wasn't anywhere nearby.

"You sent me to look for her? I don't remember that."

"What _do _you remember, Amy?" the Doctor inquired.

She furrowed her brow, and scrunched up her nose as she tried desperately to remember. "I remember . . . I remember leaving. I don't know why I left. According to you, I left to get Maria. It was cold. I walked out further . . . there was a river. . . and I don't remember what happened after that."

"A river?" Ivy asked, "There are no rivers nearby . . . Unless . . . Was it blood red?"

"I don't think – oh wait! Yes, yes it was red. Dark red like blood, yes."

Ivy's eyes widened. Wisteria paled. Red shivered.

"The Blood River." Wisteria whispered. "You saw the Blood River."

"Why? Is that bad?" the Doctor asked, taking a step closer to the Julipitarians. He searched their eyes, deciphering the platter of emotions displayed in each.

"It's supposed to be a myth." Red explained, eyeing Amy cautiously.

"Supposed to be? What do they mean by supposed to be, Doctor?" Rory asked, his head cocked to the side in confusion.

"It means it used to be a myth. Something made it real. But apparently not for everyone, am I correct?" The Doctor explained, making that I'm-being-very-serious-right-now-because-I-think-I'm-onto-something face. All three Julipitarians offered various degrees of a nod. "Tell me about this myth. Why is it a myth? What's it's story?"

"I don't think we should keep talking out here, Doctor. You never know who's hiding in the bushes." Ivy said, glancing at a couple of shrubs swaying in the cool breeze.

"Well where will we go then? Certainly not back into Oakland, as he just showed us he can't be trusted in a crisis. Which reminds me," the Doctor said, turning on his heels and walking over to Oakland, who had shrunken back down to a person form. "Why wouldn't you let us out? What was your reasoning for keeping us from Amy?"

Oakland stood there, staring at the Doctor, his face showing no signs of any emotions. The Doctor waited patiently, but Oakland didn't budge. Instead, he merely stood there, watching. Amy was a bit creeped out by the man of oak and scooted a little bit closer to Rory.

"Why isn't he doing anything?" she whispered into Rory's ear. Rory looked at her and shrugged.

"No idea."

"It's kind of creepy- like he's waiting or something."

"Waiting for what?"

"I don't know." She whispered.

Oakland turned to them, offering a cracked-lip smile.

"Why is he doing that?"

"Oakland?" Ivy asked, taking a step towards her ally. Oakland turned to her; held out his hand.

"The time is near." He rasped, his voice reminding Amy of dead leaves rustling and crunching. She gasped. Rory leaned protectively in front of her. Ivy started shaking.

"Time for what?" the Doctor narrowed his eyes.

"The time is near." He rasped again, turning to look the Doctor in the eye.

"Oakland? What's near? The time for what?"

Oakland was silent again. The Doctor turned to Ivy.

"What did he mean?"

"I-I-I don't know." Ivy stumbled over her words. The Doctor walked closer to Ivy, stopping when his face was only inches from hers.

"He looked at you as he said it the first time. What are you hiding, Ivy?"

"I'm not hiding anything, I swear! I have no idea what he was talking about."

The Doctor searched her eyes for a long moment before stepping back. Rory stood up, and reached a hand down to help Amy. Once they were both up, they walked over to the Doctor. Amy kept glancing back at Oakland, who was watching with his head cocked to the side.

"Doctor? There's a lot we don't know, and a lot we've talked about talking about but haven't yet. I think we should do that." Rory suggested, scratching his head. The Doctor nodded.

"But where?" the Doctor looked over to Red. "Where can we go?"

"There's a cave a little walk's distance from here. It's pretty well hidden, and should be safe enough. But you'd have to get past Venus first. It's technically her territory, and she can be very . . . Well, she's . . ." Red trailed off, frowning.

"I guess we'll find out." Amy said, taking Rory's hand in hers and smiling. "Lead the way, Red."

_Hey! _

_So I'd just like to remind everyone who bothers reading this that reviewing is good. *hint hint*_

_I'd also like to ask what people think of my story. Is it okay? Are the chapters too short? Does it seem all over the place? Based on the whole "lack-of-reviews-except-from-people-I-actually-know" situation, I'm contemplating putting this story on hold until the summertime. Maybe further, I don't know. So review! I'd like to keep it up, but if no one is interested, then it'll be put on pause. Alright, that's all. _

_Hugs and Butterfly Kisses!_

_Little.D_


	9. Venus' Territory

After walking in zag-zags for thirty minutes, Amy was getting irritated.

"You call this a 'little way's walk'?" she snapped, knowing she was being that annoying kid in the back seat asking 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet?' every minute.

"Just a little bit farther, sweet cheeks- see that big clearing? That's how I know we're close. That's Venus' territory." Red coughed- long walks were not his friend nowadays. Everyone sped up a little, excited to know the finish line was close.

The gang walked into the clearing, and Red motioned for everyone to stop.

Trees with thick, bushy branches, casting small shadows on the ground, surrounded the clearing. There was little grass, but a lot of dark soil. Fog sat heavily in the air, yet it was still very bright. The large clearing was at the base of a large, rocky cliff. The atmosphere here smelled like rotting fish.

"Venus." He called, sucking in deep mouthfuls of air. He really needed the carbon dioxide.

A skinny woman with a wide head and an even wider mouth walked into view. She had bright green skin and hair even shorter than Ivy's. Dry, cracked, thin lips parted to reveal an array of sharp teeth similar to a shark's, only smaller in number. "Red baby, what brings you to this neck of the woods? I heard you've been, shall we say, a little worse-for-wear lately."

"Venus before I even bother giving you a 'proper hello' I'm going to have to ask you cover up. We've got humans in the mix." Red requested.

"I second that." Rory blushed.

Venus quirked an impossibly skinny eyebrow.

"Humans, huh? Aren't they the squalid species that did this to you? I think I'll stay how I am, thank you very much."

Amy stared daggers at the green woman until, grudgingly, large leaves appeared from behind her (as if they were a part of her) and wrapped around her like a robe. Amy backed off only slightly.

"These ones are different. They're trying to help us." Red explained.

"What's in it for them?" Venus asked, walking slowly towards the group. "What do they get if they help?"

"I don't understand what you-"

"Well, _certainly_ they've asked for something in return. They're humans! I doubt they'd offer to help without getting a reward." Venus walked closer to Amy, Rory, and the Doctor. Stopping at the Doctor, she cocked her head. "This one, he's different."

"What do you mean?" asked Ivy.

"Don't know yet. It's just a feeling." Venus turned on her heels and paced back to Red.

"What do you need, Red?"

"Is the cave still secure?" he inquired.

Venus nodded. "It is."

"We need to use it."

"Well, Red baby, I suppose that can be arranged. How soon are we talking here- 3 days, a week, a month, maybe?"

"We need it _now_, Venus."

"Mm, I don't know about that." Venus ran a hand through her short hair. "It's occupied."

"By whom?" Red asked, his eyes narrowing just a little. Venus was not a woman to be trusted.

"Friends. Friends of friends. Does it matter?"

"Venus . . ."

"I'm not telling you who."

Ivy stepped forward "Yeah you will or I'll-"

"Ivy!" Red snapped. The green girl stepped back, silently fuming. "Venus we need that cave now. These humans say they want to help us and frankly, I believe them. However, before we can get to the helping, we have to give them the information they need. There isn't anywhere else that's safe enough to talk. I know you've heard the rumors about the spies. We can't risk talking anywhere else."

Venus watched them carefully, assessing the strangers that wanted to stay in her territory.

"You owe me one." Red pushed.

"Fine! Fine." She sighed, stepping back. "They're some random plants that needed a place to spend the night. They've been hitched up in there for the past fifteen hours. If you can get them out of there, the place is yours. But I've got to warn you, Red. There's something off about them. Can't quite put my finger on it, but they're not right."

"Thanks for the warning."

Venus shrugged. "Consider us even, Red baby."

With that, she turned on her heels and walked away.

When Venus was out of sight, Red collapsed. Ivy and Wisteria were right by his side in moments bombarding him with 'are you OK's. Red merely waved them off.

"I'm just tired. It took a lot out of me to stay steady talking to Venus. But with her, you can't waver. Not even for a second. And you shouldn't get too close either- she's got a nasty bite." Red wheezed. Ivy wasn't having any of it. She motioned for the others to help her as she lifted him up.

"Where's the cave?" Amy asked. Red feebly lifted an arm and pointed directly in front of them.

"Right there, sweet cheeks. That woman does a mighty good job concealing it. Just keep walking forward, I'll let you know if you're about to run into rock."

Cautiously, the group shuffled forward, inch by inch. All was silent except for the occasional cricket chirping and Red's warnings.

"Right here, it's right here." Red croaked, his voice coarse from thirst. He motioned for everyone to set him down.

"I don't see anything, Red." Ivy said as everyone gently placed Red on the ground.

"That's because it's small. You have to crawl to get to the decent sized space. Why else would it be such a great hidey-hole? Before we go in though, could someone bring me water? This old plant is parched." Wisteria- who until now had stayed hidden behind Ivy- quickly ran off to find water.

"Wisteria, wait! You can't go off alone! Ugh." Ivy rolled her eyes.

"I'll go." Said Amy, turning and running off in the direction Wisteria had.

"How about we go in, and one person can stay behind to show Wisteria and Amy the way in?" the Doctor suggested, eager to find out the secrets of the Julipitarians. Rory opened his mouth to speak, but the Doctor cut him off, "Yes Rory, you can be the one to stay back."

Rory closed his mouth in satisfaction.

"Well alrighty then, I suppose we can do that." Red croaked, "so long as they don't spill me water."

"I have the utmost confidence in them, Red." The Doctor nodded, waiting as Red started to crawl towards a crevice in the cliff-face. After Red was no longer visible, Ivy got down on her hands and knees and followed him; the Doctor on her tail. Rory waited patiently for Amy and Wisteria just outside of it.

The inside of the cave was wet and muggy, small stalactites and stalagmites gave off a faint glow. After a few minutes of crawling, the trio heard voices.

"You're an idiot, Crab." Rasped one bodiless voice.

"Am not! I happen to be the smartest one here, Mari." Rasped another.

As the trio crawled closer to the entrance, the air grew thick with smoke. Shadows danced on the cold stone floor. A fire flickered off in the distance.

"Are too, you dung beetle. When was the last time you came up with the brilliant plans, eh? Last time I checked your quote-unquote brilliant plan nearly got us killed! Besides, anybody could tell you that cutting off somebody's _roots_ would kill them! I mean, what were you thinking?" The first voice snapped.

Red stopped, forcing the others to follow his lead. Carefully, he peered into the giant cave. Two figures faced each other menacingly on the other side of the cave. One, a skinny grey thing with a big pouf of white curls atop its head, rolled its eyes dramatically and crossed its arms.

"Please," it spoke, "Everybody knows that it'll only kill you if you cut off _all_ the roots."

The other, a yellow girl with orange-y red hair that fell to her stomach, screeched, "Why did I have to go with you? You're a total _loser!_ Maybe Doc was right, I should've stayed back. Doc is the only good thing that's come out of your idiocy, Crab."

"Right, let's all go swoon over Doc now." Crab snapped, shoving past Mari towards the fire. A large rock blocked Red's view, so he risked crawling out a little further.

"Well he's a much better organism than you are! Smarter, too. Have I told you you're an imbecile?"

"No, no that one's new."

Ivy crawled next to Red, the large rock big enough to conceal them both sufficiently.

'They must be the current occupants.' Mouthed Ivy. Red nodded. 'We can take 'em.'

Red frowned and shook his head. 'No violence, baby doll.'

Ivy rolled her eyes. 'What are we supposed to do, then?'

Red shook his head, 'What?'

"What are we supposed to do then?" Ivy whispered.

Red shrugged and whispered back, "Give it a minute. At this rate, I wouldn't put it past them to kill each other."

"Oh but you see, we'd never do that. We've long passed _that _stage in our relationship."

* * *

><p><strong>Long time no update! <strong>

**After a long hiatus, I'm finally going to pick this back up. I'm focusing on my writing again, and in doing so decided that you all had waited long enough. So here it is: the next chapter. I'm sorry for the semi-shortness of it, but it's been a while since I wrote anything. I'm taking baby steps to get back to around 2,000-2,500 words a chapter. **

**Perhaps it's too soon to ask, but I've also got that FictionPress account. I'm still Little.D.526, and I'm currently working on a story I just started this past Monday. I'm going to try and work on both **_**When She Cries **_**and **_**Maria**_** so if there's a particularly long delay between chapters (I'm hoping to avoid that) that's why. **

**As always, reviews are welcome. **

**Hugs and Butterfly Kisses!**

**Little.D.526**


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